


jealous

by flowersbloomingg (thisisberkk)



Series: imaginings for ff7r [5]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Cosmo Canyon (Compilation of FFVII), F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Jealousy, Mutual Pining, Pining, that one scene in OG where tifa and aerith are in the bar together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 12:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29999439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisberkk/pseuds/flowersbloomingg
Summary: Tifa and Aerith both end up at the pub in Cosmo Canyon during a stop on the hunt for Sephiroth.--(an imagining of what that one scene from og when tifa and aerith are in the pub would look like in remake)
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Series: imaginings for ff7r [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827421
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	jealous

**Author's Note:**

> AH I'VE DONE IT  
> I'VE DIED AND RISEN AGAIN  
> FOR ABOUT THE MILLIONTH TIME
> 
> ok so my life has been absolutely insane these last few months. First, I graduated from college in December (woot!) and I somehow, magically, managed to get a full-time job less than a month after graduation WHOO! but that also involved moving to a different city, so I've been dealing with that, sooooo
> 
> ((and i had a brief drought of ff7 fandomness, but that came back in january, so i've been writing.........a lot lol))
> 
> ((...))
> 
> ((but haven't posted....UNTIL NOW!))
> 
> So, I have a bunch of stuff still planned out to post, a bunch of stuff that still needs editing, and my multi-shot is still in the works!! so hopefully i will be posting a lot more.
> 
> anyway, to this story: i've always wanted to write something like this - the scene in the first visit to Cosmo Canyon when Cloud tries to find people to go to the planetarium. if you go to the pub, Tifa and Aerith are sitting at a table together. They both only have one little line of dialogue if you talk to them, but I've always been curious of what they would've been talking about BEFORE Cloud came in. 
> 
> So...I wrote an idea of what might happen in remake! 
> 
> I imagine Tifa and Aerith being really good friends, but there's tension between them because they both like the spikey-haired, mako-eyed leader of their group. So, while they are like sisters, there is a bit of contention between them because of their feelings towards Cloud. So...I tried to address that in this!! :)
> 
> Please let me know what you think!! It's not edited as much as I would've liked, but hopefully it's still good enough :')

Aerith sipped gingerly at her glass of water, looking around at the Starlet Pub. She purposefully kept her eyes off Tifa, who sat across from her. The martial artist looked as though she was contemplating something deeply; almost like she was about to interrogate her. And frankly, Aerith didn’t want to look too deeply into her auburn eyes.

They were in Cosmo Canyon, a stop on their hunt for Sephiroth. Cloud had just gone to look for Red...or... _ Nanaki _ as his name turned out to actually be. He had run off in the direction of a man who showed up when the group first arrived at this town, when their buggy broke down. A weird man on a floating green ball, to be frank, but a man who seemed to know Nanaki well.

The group had separated, each going in their own direction after Cloud went off to see what was up with their canine companion. Yuffie, of course, went to look for Materia. Barret went off to look at the popular sights, mentioning something about AVALANCHE’s origins taking place in Cosmo Canyon. Cait Sith went to go check out some of the shops in town.

Tifa and Aerith...both ended up in the bar, it seemed.

Aerith had just been going in to get some water and perhaps a snack, and it appeared Tifa had a similar idea. So, they ended up sitting together at the same table.

But hoo boy, did it seem like something was really on Tifa’s mind.

Aerith bit her bottom lip and tried to think of something to say. She clinked the glass of water in her hands with one of her nails, making a light dinking noise. “I used to read about Cosmo Canyon,” she thought out loud. She looked around the area. “The pictures in the books I used to read about it don’t do it justice.” She smiled. “It’s a lot prettier in person.” She shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to visit.” 

She smiled at Tifa. “All the people here are so smart. Maybe there’s someone here that knows about The Promised Land and the Cetra. Though...I guess there’s not too much to know about The Promised Land that can’t be figured out by someone who’s found it, huh? So...who knows what they could tell me. And...I’m the last descendant of the Cetra, so...not sure what else they’d know about my own people.” She chuckled awkwardly before taking a sip of her water, feeling awkward for having talked to what felt like a brick wall. 

Tifa huffed and set down her mug of beer down on the coaster at their table. “I mean, the people here are ridiculously smart. You never know what info they might have.”

Aerith nodded. “You’re right. Doesn’t hurt to ask.” She scratched her wrist. “My...my father studied here. Before I was born. I think even before he met my mom.”

Tifa looked interested. “Really?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Aerith answered. “He worked for Shinra. He was a part of the whole Jenova project with Hojo. He...he left the project when he found out Jenova wasn’t a Cetra. Then, he came here. Studied here for a bit before he went back to Midgar, got in contact with my mom, helped her escape, then moved to Icicle Inn to do study on the Cetra there. They fell in love, and then...I came along.” She sipped her water again. 

Tifa blinked, thinking about what Aerith said. “Do you know what happened to your dad?” 

Aerith bit her lip and nodded. She knew Tifa, Cloud, and Barret already knew about Ifalna, since Elmyra had informed them when Aerith had been taken to the Shinra building. That was why she only asked about Gast. 

“Yeah. He...he was found by Hojo less than a month after I was born. Refused to go back to Midgar, and he refused to hand over me and my mom. So...he was killed. And my mom and I were taken.”

“And you ended up at the Shinra building?”

Aerith nodded. 

Tifa looked down at the ground. “Sorry,” she whispered, almost sounding embarrassed for having asked the question in the first place.

Aerith furrowed her brows. “Why are you sorry?”

Tifa shrugged. “I dunno...that you had to go through all that.” She bit her bottom lip. 

Aerith smirked and giggled slightly. “Can’t change it. Have to keep moving forward. We can change our future, not our past.” She took a sip of her water. That’s what she has to keep telling herself, of course. 

Tifa looked over to the side, not saying anything in response. She had that same look in her eyes as she did before, though. The one where she was thinking deeply about something, potentially to ask Aerith about, but maybe not having the nerve quite yet to ask about it.

Unless, of course, Aerith brought it up and broke the silence herself. 

“Penny for your thoughts, Ms. Lockhart?” Aerith asked, placing her hands in her lap. 

Tifa sighed. She thought about what to say, maybe how to word whatever was going on inside her brain. Whatever it was, it seemed to cause Tifa a lot of stress. 

She huffed again, and she rubbed the side of the stein. “I’m just...worried about Cloud.”

It felt like that wasn’t the whole truth, but Aerith wasn’t going to push it any further. She was at least happy that Tifa even was saying anything at all in regards to what she was thinking about. 

Aerith gave a soft smile. “Aren’t we all?” she joked, giggling at her own comment. 

Tifa laughed lightly, and then cleared her throat. “I’m just...worried that this is all getting to his head too much. When he has his sight set on something, he gets…”

“Obsessed?” Aerith finished, quirking an eyebrow. 

Tifa smiled. “Yeah,” she said, shaking her head. She looked off to the ceiling, probably having some memories reappear in her brain. “Like when he first found out about Sephiroth when we were kids. He was all Cloud would talk about...when he  _ did _ talk, at least.” Aerith giggled. Tifa, throughout the adventure, had become her source of stories about Cloud when he was younger. Aerith now had a whole arsenal of stories she could use against Cloud or to make fun of him for. All in good fun, of course.

Tifa shook her head before continuing. “And then...he just turned around and left for Midgar. It...didn’t seem like something he ever had interest in doing before, since all the other boys were leaving town. He usually didn’t want anything to do with what they all did. It was so odd that he wanted to leave, too. I didn’t think he would actually do it. Then, all of a sudden...he just up and left.” She looked back at Aerith. “And now this chasing after Sephiroth thing...it feels almost like a suicide mission. And I’m worried Cloud’s getting too...caught up in it all. He barely gives himself time to breathe. He doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t rest...” Her voice trailed off. 

Aerith nodded her head when she knew Tifa wasn’t going to say anything else until Aerith spoke up. “He’s not very cautious about his own well-being.”

“Not when he gets this invested in something. I mean, hell, we were in freaking  _ Costa del Sol _ , Gaia’s most famous vacation spot, and he just wanted to zip right through it and find Sephiroth. He didn’t even want to just stop in rest at the very least. If we-” she gestured between the both of them, -“weren’t here to make sure he eats something or takes a break every once in a while, he’d have fallen apart by now.” 

“And that’s why we’re here,” Aerith giggled. “That, and for other reasons, too, of course, but Cloud would definitely be a mess without us, huh?” She shrugged. “So, as long as one of us is making sure he’s okay, then...he’ll be okay! So, no need to worry!”

Tifa rested her chin on her hand. “I know, I just-”

Aerith interrupted her by reaching over to place a hand on her arm. “And how are  _ you _ doing, Teef? Are you feeling okay?”

Tifa took a deep breath and took a moment to ponder the question, as if she hadn’t considered her own feelings. She was quite the worrier, Aerith had learned, but never worried about herself - mostly about Cloud and the rest of the team. Aerith often had to stop Tifa and remind her that she had her own self to take care of, too, even if it seemed difficult to remember with having a bone-head like Cloud to look after.

Tifa bit the inside of her bottom lip. “I’m...doing okay. Could always be worse. But...could always be better, too.” 

Aerith smiled in the way she always remembered Elmyra doing to her when she was a little girl. “Have you been getting enough sleep?”

Tifa rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

“And eating enough?”

“ _ Yes _ .”

“Staying hydrated?”

Tifa snickered. “Yes,  _ mom _ .” 

Thanks to Yuffie calling Aerith the “mom friend” of the group, it had become a joke in the group to refer to Aerith as “mom”. Yuffie had also grown the habit of calling Cloud “dad” when he was his overprotective self. 

_ “It’s cheesy, but we’re family now,” Yuffie had told them once.  _

_ “Yeah, and you’re the annoying little sister,” Re...uh...Nanaki had replied.  _

_ “Well at least I’m not the family dog, jerk!”  _

Aerith giggled and playfully hit Tifa’s arm. “I’m just trying to look out for you, Tifa! You need to be taking care of yourself just as much; even  _ more  _ than you’re taking care of Cloud, okay? I know you want to make sure he’s fine, but you have to take care of yourself first.”

Tifa shrugged and looked down at her lap. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Teef. Please. I know you mean well by it all.” Tifa glanced up at her, and Aerith gave her a comforting smile. “And if I’m ever momming it too much, let me know. I will tone down my momness for you.” 

Tifa snickered, shaking her head at Aerith’s comment. “I think your momness is part of what’s keeping me sane right now.”

Aerith giggled, sticking her tongue out at her. “Well, I’m happy to be mommish for you.”

Tifa smiled. “Well...how have you been doing, Aerith? This is the longest you’ve been away from Midgar, hasn’t it?”

Aerith nodded her head, letting out a long sigh. “It’s...it’s been hard,” she replied. “Never stepped foot outside of Midgar, so...just trying to take it all in as much as I can! And having you guys here with me makes it all seem less scary.”

Tifa nodded and she tapped her fingers on the wood of the table. She cleared her throat. “And...I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear you and Cloud in Gongaga...um...You knew Zack?” 

Aerith gave a sad smile. “Yeah,” she replied, thinking about the raven-haired SOLDIER. “He was my first boyfriend. We dated when I was a teenager. We weren’t together long, and it wasn’t serious by any means.” She looked at Tifa. “And you knew him, right?”

Tifa blinked, and then nodded. “Yeah, not well, though. We met when he was visiting Nibelheim once. We didn’t really talk too much.” 

Aerith smiled, not wanting to mention that she knew anything more to the story. “He’s a nice guy,” she said simply.

Tifa swallowed. “Do you...wish you were still together?”

Aerith didn’t think too hard about why Tifa felt the want to ask such a question. She just shook her head in response. “I mean...not really,” she replied. “It was like...like a summer romance. It just...lasted longer than a summer.” They both laughed. “It was just a teenage thing. Teenage fling. We weren’t serious at all. I didn’t know that at the time, since he was my first boyfriend, but...looking back on it, I’m happy to have had him in my life, but...I’m excited to move forward.” She looked at Tifa. “Did you have any teenage romances?”

Tifa laughed and shook her head. “Not really. I kissed one boy on a dare once when I was thirteen, but that was the most romance I got,” she replied. “And I moved to Midgar when I was 15 with my martial arts teacher, and I got swooped up into AVALANCHE shortly after. Didn’t have much time for romance or anything.”

Aerith nodded knowingly. “Understandable,” she replied. 

There was a bit of silence, and it reminded Aerith heavily of the silence when they first sat down together here;it was a heavy silence. Aerith felt like she could cut through the tension in the air with a knife. 

While Tifa and Aerith considered themselves friends - pretty close friends, really - there was certainly a bit of...well, unspoken, unresolved circumstances between the two of them...which involved the spiky-haired leader of their group. 

Aerith knew this was going to be a point of contention between them, and honestly, she had tried her hardest not to bring it up. She didn’t think she and Tifa would ever actually fight about it if it ever did come up, but it would just be...uncomfortable. And awkward. 

Even if they never brought it up to each other, the whole situation was awkward. 

Aerith noticed the glances Tifa would give their way when Cloud would opt to sit next to her instead of Tifa, or when Cloud would walk beside Aerith when they were on the road. Especially when Cloud would make a point about him having “bodyguard duties”; normally, Aerith would bring up that Cloud hadn’t received his date yet. But there was a time on the road when that was brought up in front of Tifa, and...well, the martial artist wouldn't talk to Aerith for the rest of the evening.

Or the times when Yuffie called Aerith “mom”, and then just a few moments later, would call Cloud “dad”. Or when Cloud would ask Aerith to go into the shops with him, claiming he needed help picking out Materia, even though he was knowledgeable in the subject and shouldn’t need help. 

It wasn’t like Aerith was actively trying to make Tifa jealous, because she really wasn’t. She was  _ definitely _ aware that Tifa liked Cloud, and she wasn’t trying to make things complicated, but...

Cloud just...doesn’t listen to Aerith’s instructions that she gives him within dreams, she assumes.

Then again, she hasn’t necessarily been doing a good job herself…

…

It was a complicated situation, and frankly, Aerith wasn’t sure how to deal with it. 

She didn’t want to hurt Tifa, and she didn’t want to lose Cloud. All she wanted was to have the others be happy. That’s all she wanted. 

Before either of them could continue the conversation, the door to the pub opened. Both Aerith and Tifa turned to the direction of the doorway, seeing none other than Cloud Strife coming in, his sword not on his back like it normally was; he had probably left it in the inn they were going to be staying in. He saw Aerith and Tifa, and he walked over in their direction. 

“You find Re-I mean, Nanaki?” Tifa asked in lieu of greeting. 

Cloud nodded his head. “That guy was his grandfather, apparently,” he responded, taking a seat beside Aerith. Aerith tried not to look in the girl’s red eyes; she opted to look at her glass of water, as if it was the most interesting thing ever. 

“Grandfather?” Tifa asked, confused. “Not biological, right?”

Cloud snickered and shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of,” he replied. “His name’s Bugenhagen. He seems to know a lot about the Planet.” He turned to look at Aerith. “He’s studied it for a long time.” 

“Really?” Aerith asked, her eyes widening. That sounded exactly like what she needed. 

Cloud nodded. “He’s got a planetarium up at the top of the mountain. That’s actually why I came in here. It can only fit so many people, and Barret’s already claimed one of the spots, Yuffie’s asleep, Cait Sith had a phone call, and Nanaki’s already seen it, so I wanted to ask if...if one of you wanted to come join us.” 

Aerith looked at Tifa, and Tifa looked at Aerith. Aerith bit her bottom lip. Of course this was a situation that had to come up now, of all times. Of course, when the tension is at an all-time high like now.

Aerith took a deep breath. “Um, Tifa, you can go. I can ask to see it later,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. She would’ve loved to have gone to see it, but...maybe Cloud wants to hang out with Tifa now. Might as well give them the opportunity.

Tifa furrowed her brows. “N-no, Aerith, you should go. You might get some of the answers you were looking for, right? So, you should go. I’m sure Bugenhagen wouldn’t mind showing it to me after. Or I’m sure you guys can tell me all about it.” She gestured to her stein. “Plus, I’ve got this. So...you two go on ahead.” 

Cloud looked at Aerith. “You want to?” he asked. Aerith tried not to get too caught up in the look in his eyes that seemed to show a tint of excitement that Aerith was going to be the one going with. 

Aerith quickly glanced at Tifa, who had a fake smile on her face. Aerith anxiously turned away and looked back at Cloud. She slumped her shoulders and grinned at him. “Sure,” she said. A corner of Cloud’s mouth quirked at her response, and he nodded his head.

“Have fun, you two,” Tifa said, smiling at them, causing Cloud to look away from Aerith. 

“We’ll catch up after. Promise,” Cloud said earnestly, standing up from the table, looking down at Tifa. 

Tifa nodded. “Promise,” she replied, her voice having a twinge of sadness in it, which Aerith tried her hardest to ignore.

Cloud turned back to Aerith. The little half-smile was still on his face as he held out his arm for her. “Let’s mosey.”

Aerith giggled and got out of her seat. “Let’s.” She hooked her arm around his and hastily tried to flatten any of the wrinkles in her dress. 

“See you later,” Tifa called from behind them. 

Aerith felt a twinge of guilt in her chest, and she quickly looked behind her. She gave a small wave to Tifa before Cloud started walking off, heading out of the pub. 

“You okay?” Cloud asked her when they had left the establishment. 

Aerith looked over at him, then looked at the ground. “...Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

Aerith nodded her head and grinned at Cloud. “Everything’s peachy, Mr. Merc!” she exclaimed, maybe a little bit too overly dramatic for her normal nature.

Cloud looked ahead for a moment. “You...you’d tell me if you weren’t, right?”

Aerith had a feeling he was talking about more than her mood. She didn’t address it that way, though. “Yeah, for sure.” She squeezed his arm for extra measure. “Don’t be so anxious about me, Mr. Everything! I’m perfectly fine.”

Cloud snickered. “Just keepin’ up my bodyguard duties, ma’am.”

Aerith smirked. “You’ll get your date soon enough, sir.” 

“I’m counting on it.” 

Aerith giggled when she saw a slight pink appear on Cloud’s cheeks as he said that. “Of course you are.” 

And the flutter that came to her stomach when Cloud turned to look at her with a genuine smile. He didn’t need to say anything; the look in his eyes said it all.

And for now, the guilt wouldn’t be there in her chest. It would come at night, when she thought about her exchange with Tifa earlier. But for now, she would enjoy this moment with Cloud. Everything else would sort itself out.

If Aerith learned to follow her own instruction. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!!!
> 
> Stay safe and stay healthy!!


End file.
